Alberta medical professionals are warning that the upcoming legalization of cannabis may exacerbate the province’s problem of premature and low-weight infants.

At issue is the research surrounding the medical safety of cannabis for pregnant women and infants, which has not met the gold standard of randomized studies of the effects.

It said most people believe no harm could come from consuming cannabis while pregnant, but the organization warns the psychoactive component, THC, can get into the placenta and breast milk, which nurturefetuses and infants.

It stands to reason that smoking cannabis could cause the same problem, he said, but the root issue is that no one knows whether it’s safe or if there’s any benefit to pregnant people.

When taken while pregnant, thalidomidecauses life-altering medical problems and deformities for infants, and a certain level of alcohol use can cause fetal alcohol syndrome.

A labour arbitration board has upheld the Town of Kindersley’s move to fire an employee for vaping medical marijuana, after patrons of an arena complained he was smoking the dope while driving a Zamboni and his coworkers later complained he vaped while driving a town vehicle.

His doctor had informed his town employers that Desjarlais had a prescription to vape marijuana during the workday, but with the restriction he should not operate the town Zamboni, forklift or lawn mower for 20 to 30 minutes after vaping.

However on April 1, 2016, Desjarlais went on a trip to Humboldt in a town vehicle, accompanied by two co-workers.

The chairman arbitrator agreed with the employer’s nominee that Desjarlais’ use of marijuana was misconduct warranting discipline, and that the decision to fire Desjarlais was not excessive discipline, given the circumstances.

Andrew Huculak, the union nominee, offered a dissenting opinion, saying he found Desjarlais honest and forthright about the trip to Humboldt and about his frustrations with the town’s attempts to invalidate his prescription and legitimate use of medical marijuana.

Members of the Senate’s Aboriginal peoples committee are recommending the Liberal government hold back on legalizing cannabis for up to a year in order to address its potential forharmful effects in Indigenous communities.

The committee, chaired by LiberalSaskatchewan Sen. Lillian Dyck, said in its report on Bill C-45 that the government simply did not consult enoughwith First Nations, Inuit and Mtiscommunities before pushing ahead with its plan to legalize the drug.

The committee has heeded arequest fromManny Jules, the chief commissioner of the First Nations Tax Commission, who recommended the federal government and the provinces hand cannabis taxing authority over to First Nations governments so they can impose their own levy on marijuana grown and sold on reserves.

The Department of Finance [should] immediately work with interested First Nations and First Nations institutions to allow them to collect cannabis excise tax revenues, the committee report said, calling for an amendment to theFirst Nations Fiscal Management Act to provide for a First Nation law-making power to levy cannabis excise…

The recommendation to extendtaxation powers to First Nations will now be referred to the Senate’s social affairs committee, which will make the ultimate decision on which amendments to the bill should get the green light.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a longtime opponent of legalizing recreational marijuana, now says the federal government should not interfere in California’s legal marijuana market.

In comments to McClatchy Tuesday in the middle of a 2018 campaign for her seat in a state that has settled into the legal pot market the California Democrat said she was open to considering federal protection for state-legalized marijuana.

While dozens of states have legalized marijuana at least for medical use, it remains illegal at the federal level.

My state has legalized marijuana for personal use, and as California continues to implement this law, we need to ensure we have strong safety rules to prevent impaired driving and youth access, similar to other public health issues like alcohol, she said.

In 2015 Feinstein was the sole Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee to vote against preventing federal funds from being used to target state-legalized medical marijuana dispensaries.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Missouri voters may have the option to legalize medical marijuana this November.

The Missouri House voted Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana and Republican Rep. Jim Neely, the bill’s sponsor and a physician, argued that it was important that the Legislature set the rules for the industry.

Several groups throughout the state are collecting signatures for ballot initiatives that would legalize, regulate and tax medical marijuana in a variety of ways.

A group called Missourians for Patient Care will need more than 100,000 signatures in its effort to change state law; another group called Find the Cure needs more than 160,000 signatures for a vote on amending the state constitution.

All groups have until Sunday to submit the signatures needed to get their question on the midterm ballot.